Corning strikes early and never stops in win vs. Horseheads

CORNING — The Hawks set the tone in the first four minutes of the game and never relented in a 17-3 Section IV League boys lacrosse win against Horseheads at Memorial Stadium.

Spencer Passmore scored three times in the first 6:32 minutes of the opening quarter and Kyle Grimaldi scored on a nifty three-quarter spin move in front of the cage to put Corning up 4-0 before Horseheads could even mount a challenge. The Blue Raiders got a goal from Tyler Wascher off a Jordan Gush helper during a three-man advantage near the end of the quarter, but didn’t score again for nearly 25 minutes.

Horseheads’ best opportunity to get back in the game was in the second quarter, when Corning got hit with a wave of penalties, didn’t win a faceoff and was forced to make substitutions, but the Hawks never bent and outscored their I-86 rivals 4-0.

“We got the momentum early, kept pushing and kept that pressure going even through all those penalties,” said Corning coach Chris Hogue. “The man-down unit played great tonight and that was a big key of the game.”

Sam Crusha deked a defender out of his sneakers for a goal to put Corning up 5-1, and start a 13-0 run that stretched into the fourth quarter. During that span, seven different Hawks scored. Horseheads was able to close out strong, scoring twice in four minutes while the clocked ticked away.

Horseheads was able to keep Corning honest in the first half, firing 20 shots to Corning’s 28, but only managed to get off nine in the second half. The Blue Raiders won 11 of the 21 faceoffs in the game – including all four in the second quarter.

Passmore finished with five goals and one assist for Corning, while Grimaldi had three goals and three assists, Devon Sullivan and Andrew Buck each scored three goals, Aiden Olmstead had a goal and an assist, Garrett Huff had two helpers and Crusha and Alan Van Etten each scored once. In net for Corning, Nick Nehring stopped 10 shots on 29 shots faced.

Horseheads was led by a goal apiece from Luke Tereault, Wascher and Caleb Strope. Chris Bucciarelli made five saves on 44 shots faced.

The Hawks (8-3) will host Union-Endicott on Friday, while Horseheads is scheduled to host Massena at 10 a.m. on Saturday.